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Vatican official criticized for downplaying abuse in Ireland

May 28, 2009, 12:38 GMT

Madrid - Senior Vatican official Antonio Canizares was Thursday criticized for allegedly downplaying the abuse of thousands of Irish children at Catholic institutions in the 20th century.

Spanish Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez said it was 'very serious' and 'irresponsible' by the cardinal to make an 'inadequate' comparison between 'two completely different things.'

He was referring to the comment by the Spanish cardinal Canizares made to TV 3 channel when he said: 'What happened at some schools cannot be compared with the millions of lives that have been destroyed by abortion.'

But Canizares also described the abuse as 'totally condemnable' and said it had to be apologized for.

Canizares is the new prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments at the Vatican.

Spain is preparing to liberalize its abortion law, against the opposition of the Catholic Church.



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D. BennettMay 28th, 2009 - 19:02:55

Another arrogant and callous remark by another member of the Church top brass. Not one bishop, archbishop, cardinal or the Pope have said unequivocally, we are guilty of knowingly protecting child abusers within our ranks for decades. We have betrayed you, the Catholic laity we serve.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

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ChristianMay 29th, 2009 - 04:22:30

Horrible situation. Manmade rules. Let the priests marry. Read the history of the popes. When did the church need money to build the Vatican? About the time the church started selling indulgences. Manmade rules. Read the Bible, get to know Christ. Don't judge him by the 'christians.' Christ said because of your traditions you worship God in vain. A little different situation, but it gives an idea of how God feels about manmade laws. Come out and investigate for yourself.

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JafMay 30th, 2009 - 07:45:08

British MPs are being heavily criticised for over-spending tax-payers money and enriching themselves on 'expenses', and the whole of Britain is outraged, and demands action. Of course, it's all about money.
Why isn't the world outraged by the continuous torture, sexual and psychological abuse of children over many many years? Because whatever they do, the church still commands some kind of misplaced respect. Respect, for believing in an invisible shiny old man who lives in a cloud? One think I know, I wouldn't ever trust my children to the care of these monsters.

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KeithMay 30th, 2009 - 11:11:31

The Church appears to be in denial, to simply not understand the gravity of the offence. In my opinion and I suspect in the opinion of a large majority, these crimes are so horrific that they should merit the Death Penalty. No amount of money can ever truly compensate for a childhood of systematic torture. Frighteningly there now seem to be lots of little bits of evidence coming forward that indicate a link between all the organised religions and child abuse, not necessarily sexual but certainly violent. Is this because our guard has been down because these organisations have been respected and deeply trusted? Can we ever allow that respect and trust again? Organised religions appear to place doctrine and the self aggrandisement of the heirarchy above morality and ethics. Many believe in a Supreme Being but that is not the same as being attached to an organised religion but there are at least 45 creation stories, many appear to be more credible and pre- date the the Abraham versions which appear to have originated from the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Enuma Elish by the thousands of points of comparison. The Catholic Church admits to having altered the Bible and inserting the Resurrection story and the Christmas story so while we may respect One who has created more stars than there are grains of sand on the Earth, the historical provenance of doctrine is dubious. So how can we ever again leave our children in the care of organised religions without wondering-is it happening again today, to my child???

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